A Gentle Bishop Stands Between Noriega And U.s. Troops

December 31, 1989|By Fort Lauderdale News & Sun-Sentinel

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA — Day and night, more than 100 heavily armed U.S. troops wait patiently outside the papal nuncio's residence on the fashionable Via Italia for deposed dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega to come out of hiding.

All that stands between them and the former commander of the Panama Defense Forces are three wrought-iron gates.

And the papal nuncio, Bishop Jose Sebastian Laboa.

Laboa, a gentle man with an unassuming manner, put himself squarely in the middle of a diplomatic crisis a week ago when he allowed Noriega to enter the nunciature, the equivalent of an embassy.

Noriega, who is under indictment on drug and conspiracy charges in Tampa and Miami, sought sanctuary in the nuncio's residence after spending four days running and hiding from U.S. troops.

Laboa's decision to grant Noriega sanctuary despite the dictator's many attacks on the Roman Catholic Church is a reflection of the his religious beliefs and his willingness to put himself and his career on the line for his principles, said members of the Panama City diplomatic community.

Laboa, 66, is ''one of those church officials who was directly influenced by Pope John XXIII. He is, therefore, a believer in forgiveness and reconciliation; a priest who believes that all sinners are equal in the eyes of the Lord,'' a diplomatic source said.

''I cannot imagine him turning anyone away,'' the source said.

The career of Laboa, a native of Spain, has been marked by a combination of diplomatic and bureaucratic assignments.

He was named papal nuncio in Panama City in 1982 and a year later was elevated to bishop.

There is a certain irony in Noriega's hiding in the nuncio's residence because many of the deposed dictator's enemies sought refuge there to avoid persecution.

That irony is heightened by the fact that in 1988, Laboa made a dangerous trip at night through the streets of Panama City to offer sanctuary to former President Eric Arturo Delvalle on the night Noriega overthrew him.

Delvalle refused Laboa's offer saying that as Panama's president, he could not seek sanctuary in a foreign embassy.

Because Laboa has demonstrated his willingness to put himself at risk many Panamanians refuse to criticize him for sheltering Noriega.

''I wish he would not have done it. I wish that when Noriega called that he would have said no, but I understand that while others might have done that, Nuncio Laboa could not,'' said Dr. Fernando Boyd, a Noriega opponent.